Influence of moisture and amylose on the physicochemical properties of rice starch during heat treatment.

Moisture and amylose are important factors affecting the quality of heat-treated starches. The amylose content in heat-treated rice starch increased as moisture content (MC) increased from 8% to 30%, but decreased at MC of 70%. With the increase of MC, the paste transmittance, gelatinization temperature, and digestibility of starch increased, whereas the swelling power and enthalpy decreased. The long- and short-range molecular order and the digestive properties of starch with MC ≤ 30% changed moderately, but high MC (70%) gelatinized the starch and drastically changed the physicochemical properties. High amylose content in rice starch led to low long- and short-range molecular order, swelling power, and gelatinization temperature, but increased resistant starch. The results indicated that 30% of MC separates effects of heat treatment of starch, where low MC (≤30%) and high amylose lowers digestibility, which is beneficial for diabetics, while high MC (>30%) promotes solubility and transparency.